Durham Constabulary has confirmed that the body found in the River Wear is that of missing Durham university student Luke Pearce. The 19 year old had gone missing after a night out with friends.

“Luke’s family live in Hounslow, Surrey and while staying in Durham he was a resident of Fonteyn Court, university accommodation in the Old Elvet part of the city.

“A post mortem was conducted yesterday, the results of which will now be forwarded the coroner. There are no suspicious circumstances and an inquest on Luke’s death is expected to open in the next few days.”

Durham Police said there were not thought to be any suspicious circumstances around the death of a young man, whose body was recovered from the River Wear in the city. It was spotted by members of Durham Amateur Rowing Club close to Baths Bridge.

The body has not yet been formally identified but the family of missing student Luke Pearce, who disappeared one week ago, has been informed.

The man's body was discovered in the River Wear at Baths Bridge in Durham

Members of Durham Amateur Rowing Club spotted a young man's body in the River Wear, just before 8:45am, near Baths Bridge in Durham.

Police have been searching for missing 19-year-old Luke Pearce since he was last seen walking along the riverside on Sunday, May 19th. His family has been told.

Durham Police released this statement:

The body of a young man has been found in the River Wear in Durham, one week after a university student went missing on a night out.

Since Sunday, 11th May police had been co-ordinating a major

search effort to try to find 19-year-old Luke Pearce, a first year Masters engineering student from Hounslow, Surrey who was studying at St Cuthbert’s Society at Durham University.

On Friday officers made what was planned to be the final search on foot of the riverbanks, and a crew from Co Durham & Darlington Fire and Rescue Service used sonar equipment to carry out a search of the water.

And on Saturday evening officers were joined by Luke’s fellow members of the university rugby club as they handed out flyers in the city centre, in an effort to jog people’s memories in case they had seen Luke at any point since the early hours of the previous Sunday.

Today, shortly before 8.45am members of Durham Amateur Rowing Club phoned police to report they had seen a body in the river near Baths Bridge, on the side of the river closest to the A690.

While the body has not yet been formally identified Luke’s family have been contacted and made aware of the development.

The body has been recovered from the river and a post mortem is expected to be held later today to establish a formal cause of death. Police say at this stage there do not appear to be any suspicious circumstances.

The body of a young man has been found in the River Wear in Durham, one week after a student disappeared walking home along the river after a night out. The body has not yet been formally identified but Durham Police said the family of Luke Pearce, 19, had been informed.

He had been drinking with friends in Jimmy Allen’s bar on Saturday night and was last seen around 1.30am on Sunday, walking along the river bank in Durham City heading from Baths Bridge towards the bandstand and Durham rowing club.

Chief Inspector Andy Huddleston, Durham Police: "We expect this will be the final planned search of the area unless new information comes to light. Luke's family are aware of this and of course we will inform them immediately should there be any developments."